The largest Buddhist temple in Kunming, Yuantong sits ten minutes' walk north of Cuihu Park and dates in its current form to the Qing dynasty, though the original foundation goes back to the Tang. The unusual feature is the layout: where most Chinese temples climb a hillside, Yuantong descends, the main hall sitting at the bottom of a courtyard with the entrance at the top — and the result is that you look down on the temple roofs as you arrive.
The central pavilion sits on an octagonal island in a square pond, reached by two stone bridges flanked by carved dragons. Behind the main hall is the Theravada Buddhist hall donated by Thailand. The temple is genuinely active — incense and worshippers, particularly on Buddhist festival days — and the surrounding streets, with their tea-houses and vegetarian restaurants, are pleasant in their own right.